US attorney 'declined' to prosecute threat to congressman, letter claims

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana declined to prosecute a man who threatened to kill an Indiana congressman and his family, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.

Republican Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) was left threatening messages by Aaron Thompson, who was later sentenced to two years of probation by the local district attorney in Indiana, but the new letter raises questions about why the U.S. Attorney, which normally handles threats to members of Congress, did not prosecute the case.

"Three daughters. Hey, hey, hey, three bullets hey, hey, hey one wife yay. Oh yeah, yeah, we'll give her two bullets.." Thompson said in one threatening voicemail, according to the letter.

FBI agents visited Thompson's house, where, according to the letter by Banks and sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland in December, he "admitted he had threatened me and my family with violence because he disagreed with my political beliefs."

"When Capitol Police referred the criminal case against Aaron Thompson to the U.S. Attorney for Northern District of Indiana, they declined to prosecute despite clear evidence that Thompson violated federal law," Banks wrote.

Banks is running for the open Senate seat in Indiana.

Garland, according to Banks, has made it a priority to prosecute threats to members of Congress and Banks asked why the DOJ didn't pursue prosecution in his situation when similar threats made against California Rep. Eric Swalwell were prosecuted.

Last week, Garland penned an op-ed decrying political violence.

"Disagreements about politics are good for our democracy," Garland wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post . "They are normal. But using conspiracy theories, falsehoods, violence and threats of violence to affect political outcomes is not normal.

A spokesperson for the congressman said the Justice Department had not responded to Banks' letter.

In response to an ABC News request for comment, the Justice Department pointed to over a dozen prosecutions of individuals alleged to have threatened Republican members of Congress, including threats to Reps. Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Higgins.

"The Department investigates threats to public officials regardless of their party affiliation, and we have prosecuted multiple cases of threats made to both Republican and Democratic Members of Congress," a DOJ spokesperson said. "The Attorney General has told Congress that he views threats to public officials as threats to our democracy and the Department will continue to treat them as such."